Ex-President Donald J. Trump on midweek called for the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader belongs behind bars for failing to secure ICE Officers!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
Trump's statements come alongside the deployment of National Guard personnel in the Chicago region following directives from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including the governor and mayor.
"This represents not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader unjustly detained," Johnson responded on Wednesday. "I am staying put."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I refuse to yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What remains on the path to complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, an army base approximately 80 kilometers from the city, as the administration pushes forward with its aggressive crime strategy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has called Chicago a "dangerous hellhole", despite police data indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including murders.
On Wednesday, two hundred Texas National Guard troops were scheduled to arrive to the Chicago area, with another 300 Illinois guard personnel readying for deployment, according to sources. Authorities indicated the troops would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect federal immigration agents and their facilities.
Soldiers in combat attire with state guard patches were spotted at the US army reserve center in Elwood. Trucks marked "Emergency Disaster Services" delivered portable toilets and other supplies. Trailers were set up in rows. Extra barriers was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until 6 December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
On Monday, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they call "Trump's long-declared 'War'" on Chicago and Illinois, labeling it "unlawful and risky".
A court hearing on their case is scheduled for Thursday.
Mayor Johnson also issued an directive on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
The governor has charged the president of using military forces as "political props" and "chess pieces".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that Trump is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his personal authority."
The historic federal law limits the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, the president has stated he would be prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to put down an insurrection or are resisting federal law.
After beginning his new administration, Trump has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to at least 10 cities, including major metropolitan areas and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, claiming that the military presence is essential to fight violence and defend ICE officers.
Statistics shows that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, murders were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, per law enforcement reports.
New survey data published on that day found that most Americans oppose the deployment of military forces without an foreign danger.
